TSLP Season 4 Ep 7- Mindset Matters

Season 4 |  Ep. 6. Mindset Matters
What if the biggest factor shaping your leadership, decisions, and results isn’t external, it’s your mindset? #mentalhealth #mindset

In this powerful Season 4 episode of the Transformation Station Leadership Podcast, I’m joined by Kenneth Wyche to explore why mindset truly matters in leadership and life. We dive into how the way you think influences how you lead, how you respond under pressure, and how you move through challenges and opportunities.

Kenneth shares insight on shifting limiting beliefs, strengthening mental resilience, and developing the kind of mindset that supports growth, clarity, and long-term success. This conversation is both practical and empowering for leaders who are ready to take ownership of their thinking and lead with intention. #leadershipmindset #resilience

If you’re looking to elevate your leadership from the inside out, this episode will give you the perspective and tools to start.

Learn more about Kenneth:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lifewithken__
Website: https://lifewithken.com

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Thanks for tuning in to Transformation Station! If this episode fired you up, smash that subscribe button, share it with someone who’s ready to level up, and tell me the moment that hit hardest. Your voice keeps this movement unstoppable. 

Until next time, stand tall, step bold, and own your transformation.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Everything in your life and leadership begins in one place. It begins in your mind. Before growth is visible, it is believed. Before change happens externally, it happens internally. I'm super excited about this conversation because I know we're going to come to the realization that the most powerful transformation that any leader experiences is not our strategy, it's in our thinking. Come on, let's get this conversation started. We live it, we lead it, we ignite it. I'm your host, Adrian Benton, and today we're focusing on a foundation that shapes every decision, every action, and every outcome. That's right, we're talking about mindset that matters. I'm super excited because today we have an amazing guest with us. His name is Kenneth. He's a leader who understands that mindset is more than motivation. Let me tell you a little bit about him. He's a data analytics professional with over seven years of experience doing business development. He's passionate about scaling and automation and efficiency. And he values resilience just like we do, charity and tending to community. It is my absolute honor, Kenneth, to welcome you to Transformation Station Leadership Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Thank you for having me. I am excited to be here. Uh, and I appreciate the energy that you bring with your show because I just I can feel it. I just I'm I'm I'm happy and I hope we have uh I can give your audience um some good stuff to take with them uh as they journey through their uh life and becoming all that they are meant to be in this world.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Absolutely. Listen, you being here is already added value. So as as I was prepping for this episode, you know, mindset matters, such a classic, evergreen, relevant, and truly vital conversation for leaders, right? And I was thinking about this like mindset, our mindset, my mindset determines how we respond when things go as planned, and especially when things don't go as planned, right? They I don't know if you ever heard this saying, they say, How do you know when a tea kettle is hot?

SPEAKER_00 3:01

I don't think I've heard that one. I've heard calling it the the pot black, calling the tea kettle black. How do you know if it's hot?

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Yeah, so listen, they say, How do you know that a tea kettle is hot? It's when it's on fire. That's when the tea kettle actually sings, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Oh, yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

As leaders, how do we really know our character? How do we really know the mindset that we showed up to work with? It's when there's a situation, when there's a challenge, are we able to handle it with respect? Do we fall out of control and can't process anymore, right? And so, you know, leaders with a growth mindset, they don't wait for perfect conditions, they develop discipline along the way. So I want to start off by asking you this question when you say that mindset matters, like can Kenneth, what what does that really mean in the context of leadership and growth? And then really just truly like in everyday decision making, what does what does mindset matters mean?

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Well, yeah, again, thank you for having me. I think you hit the nail on the head in your uh opening as you were leading up to the question with respect to um, like you said, we bring when a leader or when an individual arrives in a situation or a certain type of circumstance, you know, they have to respond. And how they respond or how they deal with whatever it is they're going through shows character, shows who they are and shows their uh level of development or whatever's going on in them. And a lot of that is mindset, you know, a lot of that is temperament and care and who a person is and how they utilize their character. And so mindset matters, uh, just as a general phrase with respect to leadership in that context, because um, you do want to you have the ability to be thoughtful and control how you're gonna show up, you know. Um, we can we can make intentional choices about our attitude. Uh, like I said, like I'm excited to be here, but what if I just chose to have a different attitude and I came with a different type of energy, our conversation might be going differently. But all of that comes down to mindset. What are you thinking? How are you showing up? And what's informing how you're thinking and communicating, interacting with your space? So, just as a starting point and a basis, like, yeah, your thoughts become a reality through what you do, and what you do is an overflow of what you're thinking and what's inside of you.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

I love that, right? So, here in Transformation Station, we always give our listeners and viewers an opportunity to stop and to reflect. And listen, Ken is already giving us master class vocabulary and concepts, right? And really and truly we want you to stop and think about mindset. What is the tendency of your mindset? What is that foundation, right? And how does that impact how you interact with your team, how you lead yourself? And you know, as I as you were talking, Ken, I'm thinking to myself, so mindset really and truly is not just about positivity. So many times you hear people talk about mindset, like just be positive, just put yourself in a happy place, and everything will get better, right? But when I was listening to you, you were talking also about like mindset steering our decision making.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Talk to us a little bit more about that.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Sure. Um, and that's a that's a great point that you caught too. Um, mindset, so things happen objectively, you know. Uh things don't happen to, I've heard it said that things don't happen to us, things just happen, and we attribute the feeling to what happened, and then that's how we interpret what happens, you know. So um that's again where the mindset comes in. So something objective happens, but it happens around you, so to speak, or and maybe it is closer to you, so it's happening to you, but you can choose how you absorb that information, you can choose how you absorb that experience and relate to it. And the mindset portion of it, or really, so I don't, I don't, I want to make sure I'm not conflating ideas here because we just talked about mindset as a foundation and how you approach different scenarios, but also as you grow and learn, you know that you can apply different mindsets, you can apply different ways of thinking to different scenarios, and so it's important to be aware of that reality as well of like, okay, I understand who I am as a person, I understand my identity identity, I understand my tendencies, I understand how I may generally approach a situation. But the next level, the next step up is what does this situation call for? What is the proper thought process I should be applying to this? And then sometimes when you're skilled or you've been through a lot of things, you may have some you may face a situation that's familiar to something that you faced before in the past, and you can have a moment to call back on what happened last time I was in this similar situation and how can I apply that solution, which maybe I wouldn't normally think of in my normal context, but because I'm applying that second level or higher level thinking, I I have these other tools and resources I apply to various can apply to various situations.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

I love that. So I hear you talking about growth, right? And the mindset also determines growth. Leaders with a growth-oriented mindset believe their abilities can be strengthened through learning, effort, and consistency. And you know, Ken talk to us about the fact that as you're as you're journeying through life, the experiences that you go through, your journey, there should be an expansion, right? There's different mindsets that you can grow into, that you can mature into, that you can utilize for the various seasons or circumstances that you find yourself in. So let me ask you this question. I'm curious about this. What are the most common mindset traps that hold high-performing leaders back, even when our skills and our experiences say that we shouldn't be trapped?

SPEAKER_00 9:07

Yeah. Um, that's a great question. I think what I norm what I've because I can only speak to what I encounter when I'm speaking with other leaders or other professionals and um and other people just in general, you know. Um, three of the common ones that I often encounter are um uh imposter syndrome. I get I encounter that a lot where people just struggle with believing that they should be in a place that they are. Um, then it's survivor's remorse, which is like the other side of the same coin of surviv of imposter syndrome with survivor's remorse. You're like, okay, I shouldn't be here. Imposter syndrome, why am I here? Survivor, survivor's remorse, I really shouldn't be here. You really question um not your ability, but so much the place, like the privilege of just existing in whatever space. And I deal with people, I speak with people who often struggle with that reality. And then the other thing that I encounter too is learn helplessness, where things have been a certain way and they're just gonna be a certain way, or even if there's an opportunity out, um, people may just feel like they can't leave, like the door could be wide open, and just for whatever reason, they couldn't. And I'm using this proverbially or metaphorically as I'm speaking, but people can have opportunities to improve or get better or learn or whatever it is, and they just choose not to capitalize on it for whatever reason. So those are like three mindset traps or uh just yeah, thought ways of thinking that I encounter amongst individuals and leaders um in various spaces. And it's funny because um I don't I I wouldn't say it's funny because I I don't want to diminish people's experiences, but I do it's interesting that I encounter that a lot. Maybe that's uh an area that you know I should dive into more. Maybe I'm being led to more to speak to people with those types of difficulties. I mean, even with my brand, I talk about living more confidently, and some of that is in that same vein. So um, yeah, those are three common ones that I've uh encounter when I speak with leaders. Um, and this it's different for each individual trying to unpack why they feel the way they feel with respect to an imposter, a survivor, or helpless.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Yes, I was gonna ask you that question. Like, do you see a trend, right? So the most of the leaders here in our transformation station community are people who have been leading somewhere between 10 to 25 years, right? So they have some experience, but they're kind of at this place of frustration, right? And some of it, when you unpeel the onion, is what we're talking about now, right? They've yielded to the traps. So, you know, do you are there any patterns that you've seen or any trends or anything you know that that you've seen? I'm curious, especially for the the helpless one.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

Yeah. Um, well, I think that there is sometimes there's just a lack of willingness to innovate. Um, I think I have I was having a conversation um maybe about a month or two ago, on we were we honed in on the point of radicalization. Um, and just just the idea of sometimes just what's within our scope of reason isn't enough for you to get what you need to get in a certain season or in a certain place in life. Like no, like I know that I would normally do a certain set of things in a certain scenario, but maybe in this new place that you're in, or where at whatever place you may find yourself in, you need to do something outside the box, or you need to do something that may push you out of your comfort zone in the way that you don't want to be pushed. And I find that people just don't necessarily like that, and it and that's not something that gets any easier, you know. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone gets more challenging every single time. Um, one the first thought that came to mind, and I want to elaborate on this if you can go with me a little bit. Um, Michael Jackson, the thriller album. Um, best album ever created, um, can't be topped, right? Right, the next album is bad, and the goal of bad is to beat thriller, right? So, even as professionals, as people who can achieve great things, it's always like, Oh, I gotta push and try to do something next, you know, and it doesn't matter where you are on that spectrum, but if you have that drive in you to be better in advance, that what's next thing can be daunting. And I think that people can revert to helplessness or survivors, remorse, or even imposter syndrome if they feel like the the task is too Herculean or maybe they don't have the the skill set or the resources or what they need to adapt. Um, and so I would say that that's probably a trend or a challenge, just like having the willingness to be creative and then take that leap of faith to go and to do that, you know. Even when it comes to learning new technologies, I'm also very um involved in the artificial intelligence space. Um, and I understand that as new technologies come in, and before artificial intelligence, it was something else. But as new technologies and new ages come in, people have to choose, make a decision. Do I want to be a part of that new age, or am I okay where I'm at and I'm just gonna fall out? Yeah, but even even if you decide whatever you decide to do, there are repercussions on the other side of that, and you have to deal with that, whatever that looks like. And that's where some of these mental traps um really come into play.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Do you think that sometimes these mental traps then can become like a coping or like a protective shield? That's like you know, maybe I I exhibit um helplessness to protect myself from from having to engage in what it makes me feel uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah, yeah, I wasn't even thinking about that, but yeah, that's yes, that can definitely happen as well. We we turn these things, we we make our prison with like I forget, I I don't know if I can say it eloquently enough, but the things that uh that trap us and keep us, we we get comfortable in that, you know, turn it into a home, you know, and it's like now you're settled into a space that you should have never been in the first place or was only meant to be temporary.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Have mercy, have mercy. So before we move on to the next question, so another trap that I was thinking about as I was prepping for this was the perfection mindset. Right? Especially when we're talking to leaders who've been doing it for a while. You you start to develop these competencies, and and you I love the fact that you mentioned Michael Jackson and he was trying to top what was already number one, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:53

We push ourselves and we develop this extremely high standard that is unattainable, right? Excellence is valuable. We should always strive to be excellent in what we do, but not perfect. Because when that happens, then that's where we have a hard time really reconciling the fact that challenges are a part of the journey. And as opposed to seeing the challenge as a lesson, as a tool, as fertilizer to grow, now we see it as this thing that either is gonna stop us or is limiting us or destroying us, right? And so many times we add into our circumstances things that really were not supposed to be a part of the journey. So, you know, leaders, Ken and I are having a fabulous conversation with you, and we're talking about some some of the common mindset traps. What mindset traps are resonating with you from your journey and your experience? Go ahead in the comments right now and share that with us. Tell us. We want to continue to learn and to grow together. So, Ken, let me ask you this question: How can someone recognize when their mindset is limiting their potential rather than empowering it?

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Let me say I appreciate just how the conversation is flowing because you're setting me up real nice. Um, you're right when it comes to challenges and rising to the occasion. Um, you don't want to have this perfectionist mindset. Um, but I think that we we allowed that to infect us because um when you're doing when you're performing at a really high level, and I and I've experienced it, everybody wants to be your friend, leaders, and your managers. Oh, you're doing great, keep up the great work. And I mean, uh growing up, my family used to call me Big Head, and I don't know, maybe that took seed in a different way, but I do things can go to my head a little quick sometimes, and like especially when you are just a competitor, uh, overachiever, any of those things. Sometimes you just have that. I have that, I get excited about that stuff. I haven't played football uh since high school, but like I'm watching a football series right now and I'm like fired up just too much. Like, I just I I'm competitive, I enjoy that. I like showing up and being the best I can. And so if you have that in you, and you have to be able to identify and separate those things, uh separate your ambition from the noise, you know, because sometimes you can get so caught up in what's going on and around you that will that will make you feel like, okay, I need to do something that you really don't need to do, you know. You just showing up, you bringing the fullness of yourself to whatever next challenge or whatever next thing uh is in front of you, that's enough. And I think you just need people should be able to absorb that that's enough, you know. Where I whatever fires you up, whatever gets you, you know, inspired to get out there and get after it, you showing up with that energy is already 80 to 85, 90 percent of the battle, you know. So don't get caught up in, oh, I need to have a certain expectation. And I'm speaking to you all, but I'm also speaking to myself because I've been going through this as well. You know, as long as you show up and as long as you bring the fullness of who you are, who cares about the noise, who cares about what other people thought was gonna ultimately work out, you know, you did you if you can feel as though you did the best you could and you're doing something that you're passionate about, and you're doing something that you feel like you were placed and called in the position to do, you just need to operate in that strength, regardless. It doesn't need to match what I did before, it could be better than what I did before, it could be something totally different and and can't be compared to what I did before, but I still feel compelled. I have the power, the uh wisdom, inspiration, the will, the drive, whatever I need, the resources to do what I want to do. And so that's what I'm gonna do, regardless of what perfectionism or mindsets or noise on the outside might be telling me I should do or I should do it a certain way, whatever the ultimate turnout is, that's what I'm gonna lean into and do.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

Yeah, I love that. So, again, to our leaders who are listening and watching, what are you gleaning from this conversation? What's resonating with you? We were talking about being able to recognize when you have limiting, when you have a mindset that is limiting your potential rather than empowering it. And we're asking you that question: how do you, when do you, how do you recognize when you have a limiting mindset that is holding you back? We all can recognize the signs. Sometimes we don't pay attention to it, right? Like sometimes you focus, we will focus more on what is going wrong than what is going right. Sometimes that limiting mindset comes when we resist change. I'm always only want to do it the way it's always been done. Don't you know, like you're talking about with AI, right? You know, or or here's another one. Sometimes we attach our identity to past results, snaps to that, snaps to that, limiting limiting mindset, right? And to thine own self be true. There's that quote that says that. And so all of us as leaders, because we're all all of us as leaders, we must be self-aware and hold ourselves accountable to not getting stuck, right? So, what practices can or habits can leaders shift? Can rather, what what practices or habits help leaders shift from a reactive mindset to a resilient, growth-oriented one?

SPEAKER_00 21:56

You gotta be willing to put yourself out there, you gotta be willing to take on whatever next challenge because you you only get better by doing, you know. One of my focuses in my realm of psychology and um in my book, uh Get Your Mind Right, is self-actualization. And one of the principles that I talk about in that space is as you do, you become. So the more you do something, the more you become that something that you do, and you become what the person that's required to do what it is you do. And here's the key part the way that you do it. Because there's a lot of people that do a lot of things similar that you like to do that's have the same interests that you do, but only you can do what you do the way you do it, you know. And that's honestly, as a leader, why some of us have the positions that we have, because we can do certain things a certain way. You know, there are a lot of leaders. Lot of people with the potential of leadership when given the opportunity, but you have to you have to acknowledge and realize like, hey, I got the opportunity, and this is what I bring to the table when I show up, and that is of value, you know. Um, so just understanding that of like, okay, the more I show up every day, the easier it will get, and if not the easier, the more adept I will get at being able to handle it. And that's something I would say to honestly look forward to. It as if you're career-oriented, if you plan on leading for a long time or achieving various different heights, like get excited about the fact that the more you do something, the more you can become an expert in it, you know. Like expertise is how a lot of people, some of the best people, get paid, you know, and how you create those type of lasting relationships um that are really valuable toward for leaders and career professionals um down the line as they continue to grow uh and get better at their craft. So that's it's actually something to get excited about, you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. You got me fired up right now. Thank you. So listen, as we turn the corner on this amazing conversation here, I want to ask you this final question. Like, really talk to us. If our listeners and viewers, our leaders, if we could adopt one mindset shift today that would immediately improve our leadership and our life, what would it be and why?

SPEAKER_00 24:14

Okay, I would have to say you are a spiritual being having a physical experience. You we so whether you believe whatever you believe, we are all imbued with something called a desire. There's something you want, you know. I don't know what you want, but you want it, and I'll, you know, and you can tell me why you want it. There are things that I want that I could tell you why you want, but we all have that in us. The word desire means of the father, the the Latin roots of the father, the father, sire, the father in that is a celestial figure, a celestial parental figure. So there is a star, father, entity that puts something in you to want, and and you want that thing. Now you can call that thing God, you can call that thing the universe. We're all connected spiritually in some capacity with one another, and how we vibrate just in terms of frequency and connecting with individuals, how you can know something without about someone or connect with someone without sharing a word or saying something, that universal language of love. However, you connect with any of these higher-level concepts that I'm talking about right now, understand that you can operate and live in that, and that exists for you to operate and live in it. You know, those things that drive you every day that you wake up and you pursue every day, it wouldn't be in you unless it was meant to be fulfilled through you. So go after what's inside of you. You only receive what you believe you're worthy of receiving. So start believing that you're worthy of receiving great things, you know. Um, you can do anything you put your mind to. So put your mind to great things. Why not you and why not now? You know, like take like for just a moment, you know, in psychology we call it the miracle question, but for just a moment, if your life was, you know, the way you wanted it tomorrow, you know, or in the morning, what would that look like? Suspend your unbelief. You know, we spend all our life and a lot of not all our life, but people spend a lot of time talking about what can't happen and what will go wrong. Think about what could happen, think about what could go right, you know. And once you begin to frame your mind and change your mind and think about the possibilities of what could be, that should stir up and inspire something in you because what you're really doing is activating and connecting with what's already inside of you. Life is here to happen for you. You have to partner with life and achieve what you want to achieve. Now, I understand you go through things, and oh well, this happened to me, and you don't understand. I went through this and I still can't get over what happened five, 10 years ago. And and I get that, and we all have to struggle the way we have to struggle. But understand that the challenges that we go through are to make us better. Those challenges that we go through are to sharpen us and to get us to an expected end. And that expected end could be the expected end ultimately, unfortunately, is we're all gonna die. That's the expected end. But along the way, on that expected end, you can get where you want to go on that way, you know. You can uh, you know, I don't want to say a bucket list, but you can achieve things, you know, you don't have to live passive in life, you know. And for me, I again I'm speaking to you all, but I'm connecting with that because as I look at my life and I decide what are my next decisions, I'm like, I can do I'm okay right now to not do anything else if I don't want to do anything else. I just knock something off my table. But it's like, why not? You're still alive, you got a lot of runway ahead of you. Why not pursue something else? And sometimes as leaders, you need to stir that up inside of you too.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

I've got to go back and watch the replay. Like this again, that the the this, what you just said, like I'm taking all of that right now, you know. And to everyone listening and watching, I want to invite you to share this pivotal mindset episode with another leader in your network. I want to thank you so much for sewing into us. You said so many things that really and truly we're gonna have to stop and process. And I promise everybody who's listening and watching, if you really take Ken seriously and take hold to the fertilizer that he just gave us, you will grow. Ken, I know that there are leaders that want to reach out to you, that want to learn more, then want to read your book. What's the best way to be able to engage with you?

SPEAKER_00 28:37

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I've had a it's been a pleasure to speak with you all today. Um, you can visit my website, lifewithkin.com. Uh, you can find my book, get your mind right, on Amazon or Barnes Nobles, wherever you buy your books. And then I'm also on uh X or Twitter at underscore Kantastic underscore. And so, yeah, connect with me and yeah, I'll be happy to continue the conversation.

SPEAKER_01 29:02

Fantastic. It has been wonderful. I think that we're gonna have to invite you to come back again because we just barely scratched the surface on this. Um, but such a really, really good one. Um, but again, thank you so much for adding value. And listeners and viewers, right now, you see the link on the screen. It's also in the description box. I'm going to invite you to go ahead and click that link, buy the book, and also reach out to Ken. Let him know that you saw that you heard this particular episode, let him know what resonated with you. Ask him questions. We have a guru in our midst. And again, thank you so much for sewing into our transformation station community.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

Absolutely. Woo! Now that was powerful. Let me tell you what was powerful to me. What was powerful to me was this concept, this thought. Transformation begins in the mind before it appears in reality. Ken reminded us that leadership is not only about what you do, it's about how you think, how you respond, and how you grow through every experience. I want to thank you for joining us on Transformation Station Leadership Podcast. If this episode resonated with you, be sure to share it with another leader in your community. Until next time, keep strengthening your mindset, keep leading with purpose, and keep stepping into the transformation that's already inside of you.